My drive from work to home takes about 10 to 15 minutes on a normal day. However, as I got into my car at 5:00 p.m. and started home, I could tell that it would be slow going. After 30 minutes of crawling along at about 5 m.p.h. with half of my trip not yet behind me, I started to lose my patience. I couldn't believe how slowly the other drivers were inching along. Perhaps because I lived in the snow belt in Ohio for nearly 10 years and have had quite a bit of experience with driving in inclement weather, I felt like I had a right to grumble. However, just moments later I was forced to zip my lip and sober up a bit. A pickup truck that was coming off a highway off-ramp just about 100 yards in front of me lost control and spun in a full circle across the road. Then half a mile down the road a big SUV nearly ended up in the ditch two car lengths in front of me. That caused me to realize that folks were doing their best in pretty nasty conditions and I am sure were more than a bit nervous and frightened as they made their way home. It could have been me losing control of my vehicle just as easily as they did.
The final slap to my face was the report I heard after the storm. In that rush hour there were nearly five hundred accidents reported. Folks colliding with other cars, losing control and driving off the road, overturning their vehicles. There were many who were seriously injured and will bear the scars of that commute for the rest of their lives. I think that I have finally learned my lesson and will show more grace and patience with other drivers in the future.
